Summary

The favorites were Soviet [Tatyana Samolenko], 1987 World Champion and America's [Mary Decker-Slaney], 1983 World Champion. They qualified easily for the final, as did Romania's [Paula Ivan]. In the final, Ivan took the lead at the gun, and was never headed. She had an 8-metre lead at 800, dropping Decker-Slaney on the second lap, and she continued to increase her lead, winning by over 40 metres. Her time 3:53.96 was the second fastest ever run, but her winning margin of over six seconds has not been surpassed in any Olympic track race for women.

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